MIKE BRAUN Local woman to attend special outdoor workshop

Suzie Bieber of Canfield has been fishing for most of her 33 years, from bluegills in local ponds to yellowfin tuna off the coast of South Africa. That she is excited about an upcoming trip out west and an opportunity to learn fly-fishing and fly-tying should come as no surprise. Bieber will be the local participant sponsored by the East Ohio-Northwest Penn Chapter of The Safari Club International to the Becoming an Outdoors Woman Workshop to be held Tuesday through Sunday at the Granite Creek Ranch near Jackson, Wyo. Fishing in her youth: "I grew up fishing," she said. "My parents have a lake and I fished for bluegills and bass." She expanded her angling horizons several years ago when she went to South Africa with her brother and took some time to go sport-fishing off the coast. "We caught yellowfin tuna," She said. "That was a good time." About three years ago, Bieber, a health-care professional, joined the local SCI chapter and is a board member. "I belong to SCI because of their hunting and wildlife conservation activities," she explained. "It's a great organization." Concern for future: She added that she is also concerned with the future of hunting and fishing and views it important that younger people get involved. "Hunting and fishing needs a new generation coming in," she said. The BOW workshop she will be attending brings together women from all walks of life for a week at the SCI's acclaimed American Wilderness Leadership School. The 56 SCI-BOW participants from 20 states will take part in the most comprehensive outdoor education program for women in the nation. About the workshop: Those attending will learn outdoor skills such as hunting, fishing, camping, white-water rafting, photography, field sketching, journal writing, backpacking, horseback riding, wilderness emergencies, wilderness survival and other activities. Bieber is planning to take courses in fly-fishing and tying. "I've always wanted to learn how," she said. She has also signed up for topographical map reading and will participate in a mock elk hunt. "I'd like to go back out west sometime with my dad and brother and hunt for elk," she said. When she returns from her weeklong Wyoming experience, Bieber will share with us in photographs and words a bit about the workshop and her experiences there. It should make for a very interesting interview. Related event: In addition, Bieber said she is working on a local project that could be considered an offshoot of programs like Becoming An Outdoorswoman or the equally popular local Women in the Outdoors workshops operated by the National Wild Turkey Federation and the Ohio Division of Wildlife. "I have some male friends and they kept asking me why they couldn't come to these [women-only sessions]," she said. After some discussion, Bieber said the local SCI gave her the green light to try a co-ed version. So, come Aug. 25, at a site on Western Reserve Road, there will be a co-ed outdoor event that will give instruction in outdoors activities such as fishing, shooting sports, hunting and other related fields. I'll have more on this event as it becomes available. braun@vindy.com